Shambavi River Protection Committee

Kadandale Post, Karkala Taluk, Dakshina Kannada

Bangalore Contact Address: Room 57, Hotel Woodlands, Bangalore Tel: 2225111

23 September 1997

Press Conference Invitation

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Shambavi River Protection Committee invites you to a Press Conference on the 24 September 1997, Wednesday, at 12.30 p.m. at the Press Club of Bangalore. This is to highlight our concerns over the construction of an hazardous dyes manufacturing industry by the US-Indian joint venture of Engelhard Highland Private Limited, a 100% export oriented unit, on the banks of the holy Shambavi River in the midst of thick forests and plantations.

You will recall that this had become a very controversial issue in the Karnataka State Assembly on 29 August 1997, when the issue was raised by the leader of the Opposition, Mr. B. S. Yediyurappa, in response to which the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Siddaramaiah, was compelled to constitute an Expert Committee on the floor of the Assembly to visit the site and recommend suitable action against the violators.

The 8 member Expert Committee did visit the site on 18 September, but only to meet the industrial representatives, much against the brief of the Government to them. When over 3,000 villagers who had gathered outside since the morning began to protest, only the Spl. Secretary Ecology Department, Capt. Raja Rao, emerged from the chambers of the violating industry, and accepted a written representation. No inspection of the site and the surroundings was ever conducted.

There are serious issues of concern in the industry coming up without any clearances, which in our opinion has to do with powerful interests protecting them, particularly when the entire produce is to manufacture dyes for priniting dollars in the US, begging the question why in the first place the USA did not allow the industry to be sited in their backyard. We do not want our pristine surroundings at the foothills of the Western Ghats to be a dumping ground for hazardous industries that would not be allowed in the developed countries.

To highlight such serious issues of concern, we request your participation in a Press Conference, wherein we will be providing you photo-documentation of the violations.

Date: 24 September 1997

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Venue: Press Club of Bangalore

Addressed by: Shri. Vasudeva Rao, Honorary President

Shri. Subbaiah Shetty, General Secretary

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely

Subbaiah Shetty

General Secretary